Henry W. Coe State Park
p.1 #1Henry W. Coe State Park
Recently spent 2 days in Henry Coe Park near Gilroy California. Stunning views were found in every direction and I found a place big and beautiful enough to continue exploring for a lifetime. Most of my landscape photography is just done on the move as my wife has little patience for it 
Mar 16, 2026 at 02:50 PM
p.1 #2Henry W. Coe State Park
Henry Coe is an overlooked gem with, as in your photographs, a ton of the beautiful oak grassland terrain. And right now it is, as your photos show, at its peak green, with wildflowers coming up.
(I drove past the turn off twice today! Each time I thought, "I need to back there!" The pictures may be just encouragement I need — perhaps later this week!)
(I drove past the turn off twice today! Each time I thought, "I need to back there!" The pictures may be just encouragement I need — perhaps later this week!)
Mar 16, 2026 at 09:16 PM
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p.1 #4Henry W. Coe State Park
Lovely set! As a new englander stuck in the beginning of the grey mud season trying to warm up, it is quite a lovely respite...
Mar 17, 2026 at 03:46 AM
p.1 #5Henry W. Coe State Park
gdanmitchell wrote:
Henry Coe is an overlooked gem with, as in your photographs, a ton of the beautiful oak grassland terrain. And right now it is, as your photos show, at its peak green, with wildflowers coming up.
(I drove past the turn off twice today! Each time I thought, "I need to back there!" The pictures may be just encouragement I need — perhaps later this week!)
You certainly should! I'd love to see some of your work from this park.
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vbnut wrote:
It is likely to be 85-90°F there this week
I know it's rather disappointing. I think it may dry out the lush green grass early.
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guidostow wrote:
Lovely set! As a new englander stuck in the beginning of the grey mud season trying to warm up, it is quite a lovely respite...
I know it's only a "state park" but would be totally worth the trip to this place to flee the lingering winter in New England sometime in March/April is the best time to go - coindicing with perhaps my least favorite time in New England. It gets too hot other points of the year, with limited shade and water and hiking the park is like going on a stairmaster machine.
Henry Coe is an overlooked gem with, as in your photographs, a ton of the beautiful oak grassland terrain. And right now it is, as your photos show, at its peak green, with wildflowers coming up.
(I drove past the turn off twice today! Each time I thought, "I need to back there!" The pictures may be just encouragement I need — perhaps later this week!)
You certainly should! I'd love to see some of your work from this park.
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vbnut wrote:
It is likely to be 85-90°F there this week
I know it's rather disappointing. I think it may dry out the lush green grass early.
---------------------------------------------
guidostow wrote:
Lovely set! As a new englander stuck in the beginning of the grey mud season trying to warm up, it is quite a lovely respite...
I know it's only a "state park" but would be totally worth the trip to this place to flee the lingering winter in New England sometime in March/April is the best time to go - coindicing with perhaps my least favorite time in New England. It gets too hot other points of the year, with limited shade and water and hiking the park is like going on a stairmaster machine.
Mar 17, 2026 at 09:22 AM
p.1 #6Henry W. Coe State Park
cxpics wrote:
(I drove past the turn off twice today! Each time I thought, "I need to back there!" The pictures may be just encouragement I need — perhaps later this week!)You certainly should! I'd love to see some of your work from this park.
I did photograph there years ago a little bit, but it was mostly just a few wildflower visits, IRRC.
Have you been around the park long enough to remember when they tried to ban or charge photographers for working in the park? Apparently some local manager got it in his mind that this was a profit source or something, and demanded that photographers pay for a commercial permit to photograph there! Needless to say, that wasn't very popular... and it was also unenforceable.
As I recall, the controversy actually went all the way to the state park management level where the policy was (happily) overruled. (This must have been 15 or 20 years ago.)
gdanmitchell wrote
Henry Coe is an overlooked gem with, as in your photographs, a ton of the beautiful oak grassland terrain. And right now it is, as your photos show, at its peak green, with wildflowers coming up.(I drove past the turn off twice today! Each time I thought, "I need to back there!" The pictures may be just encouragement I need — perhaps later this week!)
I did photograph there years ago a little bit, but it was mostly just a few wildflower visits, IRRC.
Have you been around the park long enough to remember when they tried to ban or charge photographers for working in the park? Apparently some local manager got it in his mind that this was a profit source or something, and demanded that photographers pay for a commercial permit to photograph there! Needless to say, that wasn't very popular... and it was also unenforceable.
As I recall, the controversy actually went all the way to the state park management level where the policy was (happily) overruled. (This must have been 15 or 20 years ago.)
Mar 17, 2026 at 10:41 AM